Two former Parramatta Eels players are accused of harbouring semi-automatic weapons and possessing more than half-a-million dollars in cash after dramatic arrests in Sydney's Centennial Park yesterday.

Checkup Medical Column for June 23

Foods high in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), such as walnuts and salmon, may help control a person's appetite by influencing the hormones associated with hunger, research suggests.

Specific hormones in the body help control appetite. Some hormones are responsible for signalling the body to eat, whereas others tell the body it's full, or satiated.

A study at the University of Georgia found that participants who consumed a regular diet high in polyunsaturated fats, as opposed to other fats, had a significant decrease in the hormone ghrelin, responsible for increasing hunger.

They also had a significant increase in peptide YY (PYY) - a hormone that increases fullness or satiety. Participants saw increases in PYY while fasting and after consuming a meal.

These types of hormone changes imply better appetite control. There were no changes in the subjective ratings in either the PUFA-rich diet or the control diet.

"Appetite hormones play an important role in regulating how much we eat," lead researcher, Jamie Cooper said.

"These findings tell us that eating foods rich in PUFAs, like those found in walnuts, may favourably change appetite hormones so that we can feel fuller for longer."

Walnuts are unique among nuts because they are primarily comprised of PUFAs.

They are also the only nut to contain a significant amount of plant-based omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

Research on the health benefits of PUFAs continues to evolve and most recently the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans has recommended consuming this type of fat in place of saturated fat.

EATING FISH REDUCES ARTHRITIS SYMPTOMS: STUDY

Regularly eating fish may be as good as taking supplements for treating the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

A recent study found individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who ate fish two times per week had lower disease activity - swollen and tender joints - than those who hadn't eaten fish for over a month.

The more fish that was consumed the better the outcome, according to the study.

"If our finding holds up in other studies, it suggests that fish consumption may lower inflammation related to rheumatoid arthritis disease activity," Dr Sara Tedeschi, lead author of the Arthritis Care & Research study said.

"Fish consumption has been noted to have many beneficial health effects, and our findings may give patients with rheumatoid arthritis a strong reason to increase fish consumption."

DEBATE OVER HEAD POSITION FOLLOWING STROKE SETTLED

A trial involving more than 11,000 stroke patients has revealed sitting up or lying flat after a stroke makes no difference to their recovery.

Some studies had indicated lying flat may improve recovery by increasing blood flow in the main arteries to the brain, but there were fears it also raised the risks of pneumonia.

But research led by The George Institute for Global Health found the position of a patient's head does not affect outcomes.

Lead investigator Professor Craig Anderson said: "Many stroke specialists believe that the way the body is positioned after stroke makes a difference to their patient's recovery. But, there was really no conclusive evidence to back this up.

"We know the first 24 hours of care post-stroke is crucial to recovery, so it was vital to find out if sitting up or lying down flat could make any difference.

"What we found is that head position does not matter so much over and above good nursing care. It does not help with recovery, with mortality or how a patient feels. However, we also found there were no significant harms associated with either lying down flat or sitting up."

The large randomised nursing care trial took place at 114 hospitals in nine countries including Australia, with the findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

HEALTH STAR RATINGS SHOULD APPLY TO FAST FOOD: RESEARCHERS

Health Star Ratings should be extended to cover fast food restaurants across Australia, according to a new report by The George Institute for Global Health.

More than 1500 products were analysed from 13 leading chains, including Gloria Jean's, Pizza Hut and McDonald's, to find out if the food labelling system could be applied to fast food items.

Results published in the journal Appetite revealed the average HSR for fast foods was low at 2.5.

Subway and Oporto performed the best with an average HSR of 3.4 across their menus.

The worst performing chain was Gloria Jean's which had the lowest average HSR (2.0 stars) followed by McCafe (2.1 stars) and Muffin Break (2.2 stars).

Dr Elizabeth Dunford, of The George Institute, says extending the HSR to fast food restaurants would help Australians make healthier food choices because it informs them of the full nutritional make up of a product.

"We also know that many consumers still struggle with using the kilojoule labelling, whereas the HSR performs really well in terms of consumer understanding," Dr Dunford said.